Lyrid meteor shower 2025: When and where to look up
Known for its fast and bright meteors, the Lyrid meteor shower is active during late April. This year's peak occurs from Monday night into Tuesday morning for those in the U.S.
FILE – What is the Lyrid meteor shower?
NASA Ambassador Tony Rice joins FOX Weather to explain more.
April's celestial excitement continues early next week with the annual Lyrid meteor shower.
Known for its fast and bright meteors, the Lyrid meteor shower is active during late April. This year's peak occurs from Monday night into Tuesday morning for those in the U.S.
This shower is produced by space debris from comet C/1861 G1 Thatcherm. NASA says the comet was originally discovered by astronomer A.E. Thatcher in 1861 and has not completed an entire orbit around the Sun since then.
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The annual April Lyrids meteor showers illuminate the night sky over the Jinshanling Great Wall on April 22, 2022 in Luanping County, Chengdu City, Hebei Province of China.
(Zhou Wanping / VCG )
The comet is estimated to take about 415 years to complete a full orbit. Astronomers say the average meteor shower usually produces 10-20 meteors per hour, but sometimes, the event can produce as many as 100 meteors per hour.
Since the Moon is in its waning phase, lunar light pollution will be minimal, making it easier to see the meteors.
According to NASA, the Lyrids' radiant point is in the Lyra constellation near the brightest star in the constellation, Vega. As one of the brightest stars in the sky, Vega serves as a good starting point for looking for the meteors, but NASA said it's best to view the Lyrids away from their radiant.
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Startrails are seen during the Lyrids meteor shower over Michaelskapelle on April 21, 2020 in Niederhollabrunn, Austria. (EDITOR'S NOTE: Multiple exposures were combined to produce this image.)
(Thomas Kronsteiner )
Find a dark place away from city lights to watch the meteor shower. To improve your viewing experience, give your eyes about 15 minutes to adjust to the dark.
Your best bet to see the Lyrids is before moonrise, which happens in the pre-dawn hours for much of the U.S. Check timeanddate.com to find out when the Moon rises in your area.
If this celestial show disappoints or cloud cover gets in the way, the Eta Aquarids meteor shower in early May could offer another chance to see shooting stars in the night sky. The Eta Aquarids peak on May 3-4, according to NASA.
Click here to see your complete guide to all this year's celestial events, featuring more full Moons, additional meteor showers, eclipses and Supermoons.